Although the intensity of the blessing Zeri received was far inferior to Faen's—who had directly merged with Janna—from the perspective of a spirit realm lifeform, it wasn't so much a merger as it was Faen devouring Janna while leaving her consciousness intact.
Perhaps Janna could be seen as the "Artifact Spirit" of the concept known as the "Wind of Change"? Albeit a much more liberated one.
Even so, as Janna's Chosen, the current Zeri was a true Child of Zaun.
According to the traditions of Runeterra, when an individual receives the recognition of the people or the deities of their region and city-state, they can be called the "Child" of that place. Although Janna wasn't a particularly powerful deity, there weren't many decent entities in all of Zaun to begin with.
It might sound offensive, but it was truly a case of "when the tiger is away, the fox is king"... except here, Janna was the God-Queen.
It was actually quite absurd; most God-Kings represent authoritarianism and totalitarian rule, yet Janna's essence was Revolution. The more one thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
But considering the environment of the Twin Cities... it was acceptable.
Regardless, as a spirit realm lifeform, when Janna's power could truly descend into the material realm, the strength displayed would be entirely different.
Ordinary people might not know, but Faen did—the spirit realm and the material realm have never been in balance. The balance appeared maintainable because when a person dies, their light goes out, and through reincarnation, their consciousness enters a new cycle in the spirit realm. The two realms seemed to cycle infinitely without gain or loss.
In reality, the two realms had long since lost their equilibrium.
At the very least, from what Faen knew, the energy of the spirit realm was several times the sum of the material realm's total energy. In this state, as described in Master Yi's novella, The Poetry of Wuju: ["This feeling..." Yi looked at his hands and clenched his fists toward the red-eyed Doran. "It feels like I could cleave an entire mountain!" "Yes, you truly can," the spirit replied. "No armor in the mortal world can withstand Wuju. As long as you can master more power, you can cleave a mountain, a forest, even an entire world..."]
Although the spirit later claimed it was Yi's hallucination, the phrasing implied that it was Yi who hadn't mastered the power, whereas the Vastayashai'rei of the Great War certainly had.
One could only say that Runeterra is just like that—regardless of what kind of legendary warrior you are, you must eventually master either runic mysteries or the spirit realm. Even though Riven seems like a Noxian "Captain America" who could fight all day, her survival in the chemical explosion of the lore was entirely due to the magical protection of her runic blade.
Under these circumstances, by receiving Janna's blessing, Janna's spirit realm energy could finally act upon Zeri's physical body...
Watching Zeri's back, Faen estimated that the current Zeri could toy with a riot control squad with ease. In fact, as long as she was slightly careful, Zeri could finish off every last one of them and barely have a speck of dust on her clothes.
From another angle, this was how Evelynn treated the solitary hunter... although that woman was taken out by Faen in a few moves, very few in the Twin Cities could actually claim a steady victory over her.
After all... the Twin Cities were essentially a "mortal preserve" of Runeterra.
What? You mention Demacia?
You call those guys who push seven or eight-meter-tall stone statues as daily training "ordinary people"? Are you joking?
Thinking this, Faen said, "Alright, everything is more or less wrapped up. We'll handle the ability training and familiarization once we get home; there should be a dedicated training ground there."
Hearing this, Zeri, Jinx, and the others nodded, following Faen toward the nearby pressure elevator—the Chem-Barons' high-tower manor had already been commandeered by Faen.
While it sounded strange, Faen was not the type of person to seek out suffering for no reason. If a person is willing to endure hardship, there will be no end to the hardships they face. Why shouldn't he commandeer a manor? Faen had brought so much change to Zaun; was it a problem for him to enjoy himself a little?
It was already late when they were hunting the demon, and now that they had finished their work and returned from the Zaun Middle Levels, the time had reached 2:00 AM.
Among the group, Faen and Zeri showed no signs of fatigue. Seraphine, though feeling a stifling discomfort, was mostly dealing with a tangle of complex emotions she couldn't express. Her actual stamina was quite abundant—so much so that it was the excess of energy that made her feel restless. If she were truly exhausted, she would have fallen asleep on her feet.
As for Jinx and Caitlyn... well, Jinx was as energetic as ever.
Her mind, rather than being worn down by years of internal friction, had become increasingly hyperactive due to her mental illness, making her an expert at staying up all night. Nourished by massive amounts of Shimmer energy, Jinx looked thin and weak, but her explosive power far exceeded that of an ordinary human.
In contrast, although her spirit was tough and powerful, Caitlyn lost out simply by being too "normal." By the time they reached the manor, she couldn't stop herself from yawning several times.
When they arrived at the manor gates, they saw a familiar figure at the entrance.
Under the lights, Vi leaned alone against the outer wall of the tower. Her head was bowed, casting a long shadow under the night lamps. As Faen's current residence, there were actually very few people guarding the place—or rather, no one at all. Under Faen's manipulation, the water and wind in the surrounding area were under the interference of the spirit realm; anyone approaching would be discovered by Faen instantly.
Unless that person's mastery of the spirit realm rivaled his own.
But even if their mastery was superior to his, Faen would still know immediately. This involved the Level of Life. It was hard to say which stage Faen's life level was at, but he was using the essence of Ashlesh... the life level of that primordial demon was off the charts.
It might be different elsewhere, but this was the Twin Cities.
After a brief greeting, Faen led Zeri and Seraphine inside, leaving Vi to be handled by Jinx and Caitlyn behind him. Upon seeing Vi, Jinx froze for a moment before averting her gaze and following Faen's pace. Caitlyn, on the other hand, was much more direct, saying with a look of relief:
"You finally came. I was wondering if those guys in the Council would throw you back into prison as a scapegoat just to vent their anger."
Vi pulled her attention away from Jinx's cold, receding figure in her peripheral vision. Sighing silently in her heart, Vi shrugged with feigned indifference and said, "I feel like no matter how crazy the lords of Piltover are, they wouldn't go that far... at least your mother cares about you so much, she would definitely protect me."
Faen had already walked some distance away, but sensing the interaction between the three women behind him, he couldn't help but look back with a playful glint in his eyes.
These women... Jinx knew that passing by in cold silence without a word would hurt Vi's heart, yet she put on an act of total indifference. Vi knew Jinx was doing this to hurt her, yet she still felt sadness and resentment. Vi knew that allowing Jinx to leave with such neglect would cause Jinx pain, yet she did it anyway. And Jinx knew Vi was doing it on purpose, yet she still felt anger and dissatisfaction.
This is why they are family. Every single one of them is more "twisted" than the last, constantly on the verge of tearing each other's hair out, yet they hold back, waiting for the other to break first so they can stand as the victim and rightfully point fingers and hate...
They should go start a band; I wouldn't watch KDA without them.
Although he enjoyed watching women fight, with Jinx—one of the protagonists—choosing a cold war, Faen couldn't exactly force them to brawl. He was slightly disappointed, but in no rush. Since Jinx and Caitlyn were both here, the entertainment would be endless. Such drama brought little of substance, but it served as a perfect mental massage to spice up an occasionally dull life.
Leaving the scene, Faen then took Zeri and Seraphine to the grounds within the tower manor to rest.
This so-called "rest" was merely another session of deep "cultivation" Faen performed to stabilize the two girls' life levels. Inside the spacious and extravagant bedroom of the tower, Faen waved away the residual mist and brought the still dazed and moaning Seraphine, along with the unsatisfied Zeri, onto the soft downy bed.
"Ngh... Faen, that 'resonance' hasn't stopped..." Seraphine's face was flushed red. Because she had been infused with too much of Faen's essence within the spirit realm, her never-before-cultivated body was currently in a state of extreme sensitivity. Just a light stroke from Faen's fingertip caused her nipples—swollen and rock-hard from arousal—to throb violently. Her pink private parts had long since burst their banks; crystal-clear love juices mixed with the spiritual essence not yet drained from her body, soaking the inside of her expensive performance outfit into a muddy mess.
Faen didn't waste any words. His purplish-red meat stick, which had grown even thicker and more ridged with dark blue veins due to the contract's sublimation, carried a terrifying heat. Under Seraphine's terrified yet expectant gaze, he showed no mercy as he breached her tight defenses, impaling her to the hilt in a single thrust.
"Ahhh—! I'm... I'm going to break! This feeling..." Seraphine threw her neck back and let out a broken, high-pitched song, every note trembling and distorting from the ultimate ecstasy.
To the side, Zeri had already reached her limit. She pounced like a madwoman, sticking out her already red, swollen, and out-turned flower house to grind frantically against the side of the giant object. Faen maliciously manipulated the "Joy Factors" within both of them to boil instantly, and the two Chosen girls fell into a complete physiological collapse at the same time.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of flesh hitting flesh, the room was filled with lewd, wet squelching and wanton moans. Faen acted like a cold pile-driver, alternately impaling the deepest parts of both girls' wombs. Seraphine's celestial voice was now reduced to sweet, depraved whimpers of sexual surrender. Her originally clear eyes completely lost focus into heart shapes, her petite body spasming violently with Faen's thrusts. Massive amounts of red and white fluids splashed from their points of union, soaking the entire mattress into a lewd ruin.
After several hours of cultivation, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. The next morning, Sievika knocked on the gates of the tower manor.
With Faen's authorization, the water currents pushed the gates open and guided Sievika inside. After walking for about ten minutes, she arrived at a garden within the grounds.
Wearing a bathrobe and leaning back in his chair, Faen took a sip of hot water and said, "Coming so early? What? Did someone come looking for you?"
Hearing this, Sievika nodded coldly. She slapped a secret letter directly onto the table in front of Faen, then stood aside with her arms crossed, saying, "Those guys want me to betray Zaun and sell out your information."
"And your thoughts?"
"I don't know. Perhaps it can be used?" Sievika frowned, appearing quite troubled about how to proceed. She simply cast her gaze directly at Faen.
Faen didn't respond immediately. Instead, he picked up the secret letter and began to read it with great interest.